Bellhorn04

2023 does feel like a suspension bridge season.

It's the part time job part that's boggling my mind.

Seriously.

Might this be the first sign that the bubble is going to burst at some point?

That would certainly seem to be the logical play.

And we all know the first change that's going to come to John Henry's mind. His track record for patience speaks for itself...

Agreed.

Yes, but it's only because we're projected to be worse than them. The closer we are to them, the less the schedule is a disadvantage. It's a bit of a Catch-22 conundrum, one might say.

Setting aside the easy/hard part, the 2023 schedule is pretty freakin' wild, folks...

If the Red Sox are better, it makes their schedule easier. There, I think I figured it out.

But if the 2023 Red Sox turn out to be better than the projections, that all changes, right?

Just so we're clear on this, the other teams in the AL East all have equally tough schedules as us - the problem is that there are too many good teams in the AL East right now. Correct?

I thought we were done with those jokes... (I know that's not what you meant. Just bored.)

In case anyone's wondering, the "average average" rank would be 15.5 ((1+30)/2).

He did miss some time with a shoulder issue last year though, pitching only 9 innings in July. Kind of a red flag. His career road ERA of 4.51 isn't very impressive either... I have to go with "Thanks, Cash!"

The second sentence seems like a wee bit of an overstatement.

Might as well just assume everyone's cheating.

By Bob Hamelin.

From Shaughnessy: As one who covers the Red Sox fairly regularly, the part of the book that interested me most was a detail of amazing success Red Sox batters had against the mighty Dodgers in the 2018 World Series (won by the Sox in five games). It’s a passage on Page 277 that comes after multiple chapters detailing cheating by the Astros, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, and just about everybody else in baseball in 2017-18. From Page 277: “Through 2022, no team has ever produced a better batting average with runners in scoring position and two outs in the World Series than the 2018 Red Sox, at .471. No team had ever had a higher on-base percentage in that scenario, either, than their .609. Only one team had recorded a higher slugging percentage than their .882.” In other words, of all World Series teams since 1903 — 236 pennant winners — the 2018 Red Sox were the best at guessing what pitch was coming. Note that the sample was confined to RISP and two outs. For sign-stealing purposes, why would it matter whether it was two outs or not? Plus it was five whole games...

It's only logical that with a Mookie Betts, a guy on track to be one of the very best players in franchise history, it's up to the owners to decide how much is enough to keep him.

That was one hell of a trade deadline for Cash. Still got another extension from Hal, though.

From Joel Sherman: Montas is scheduled for shoulder surgery next Tuesday and manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that the righty will miss most, if not all of this season. Nestor Cortes (hamstring strain) had to abandon playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic, though Boone said he expects Cortes to be ready for the regular season. Gerrit Cole is a horse (MLB leader in starts since 2017), but Luis Severino has made just 22 regular-season starts the past four years, and until 2021-22, newcomer Caros Rodon had been a medical mess. Domingo German is an asset as a sixth starter, but every time he gets a chance, the Yankees want to do better. Clarke Schmidt echoes Chad Green: The Yankees are going to insist he is a starter until they relent and make him a full-time reliever. Still, the problem is what comes next. Since the 2019 season ended, the Yankees have lost Garrett Whitlock in the Rule 5 draft; have traded Roansy Contreras and Glenn Otto; and have dealt starters Jordan Montgomery, Hayden Wesneski, T.J. Sikkema, Beck Way, Luis Medina, J.P. Sears and Ken Waldichuk at the 2022 deadline for Harrison Bader, Scott Effross, Andrew Benintendi, Lou Trivino and Montas. Contreras (Pittsburgh) and Montgomery (St. Louis) are rotation locks, and the others either will begin the year in rotations or will have a chance as the season progresses. Meanwhile, only Bader and Trivino are still standing for the 2023 Yankees. Effross (Tommy John surgery) and Montas are injured, while Benintendi left in free agency for the White Sox.

I'll always believe that the offers to Betts were an ownership call.

Can't help it if you resemble a spy balloon.

Put it this way, you can blame DD for Sale and maybe for losing Bogaerts. But Betts, the HOFer, that was strictly on ownership. They did not really go after him hard. They made a respectable offer, yes, but then they said screw you when they saw Mookie's counter-offer. If DD was in control of the situation he would have gladly paid Mookie 375 million or whatever it took.